Why realistic humanoid robots need to learn to lip-sync

<p>In this week's episode of the&nbsp;<em>Science Focus Podcast</em>, commissioning editor Jason Goodyer speaks to <a href="https://www.napier.ac.uk/people/carl-strathearn" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Dr Carl Strathearn</a>, a research fellow at the School of Computing at Edinburgh Napier University.</p><p>He's currently conducting research on realistic humanoid robots, specifically on more realistically synchronising their speech and mouth movements.</p><p>He tells us about how to get robots out of the Uncanny Valley, why the way a robot looks is so important, and why Data from&nbsp;<em>Star Trek</em> is an inspiration for his work.</p><ul><li><a href="https://www.sciencefocus.com/news/lip-syncing-robot-gets-one-step-closer-to-crossing-the-uncanny-valley/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank"><strong>Read an edited excerpt from this interview</strong></a></li></ul><p>Let us know what you think of the episode with a review or a comment wherever you listen to your podcasts.</p><ul><li><strong>Subscribe</strong>&nbsp;to the&nbsp;<em>Science Focus Podcast</em>&nbsp;on these services:&nbsp;<a href="https://www.acast.com/science-focus-podcast" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Acast</a>,&nbsp;<a href="https://itunes.apple.com/gb/podcast/science-focus-podcast/id1296673906?mt=2" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">iTunes</a>,&nbsp;<a href="https://www.stitcher.com/podcast/immediate-media-2/science-focus-podcast" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Stitcher</a>,&nbsp;<a href="https://rss.acast.com/science-focus-podcast" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">RSS</a>,&nbsp;<a href="https://overcast.fm/itunes1296673906/science-focus-podcast" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Overcast</a></li><li><a href="https://www.sciencefocus.com/future-technology/podcast-transcript-dr-carl-strathearn-on-realistic-humanoid-robots/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Read the full transcription of this episode</a> [this will open in a new window]</li></ul><p><strong>Listen to more